Une adolescence en Gueldre

Une adolescence en Gueldre is part of a series of books that Pirotte has published over a period of twenty years, in which his hero tells of his wanderings and experiences.[1] The novel was published on 22 August 2005 by Éditions de la Table ronde.[2] Jean-Claude Pirotte has published about thirty books. Many of them have won literary prizes, including the Prix Coppée, Prix Littéraire Valery Larbaud, Prix Vialatte and Prix Marguerite Duras.[3]

In his diary Ange Vincent tells of his life as an adolescent with the Prins family in the Veluwe, Holland.[4] The father of the family, a great lover of literature, gives him the task of translating Don Quixote. He also accompanies the two sons of the family on their wanderings.[5] They are both much older than the narrator, who is twelve and is starting to become aware of girls, including the naive Germaine, the provocative Mara and the languid Carlijn.[1] The two boys, Han and Jan, are fascinated by the same woman. She has a strange resemblance to a portrait of Saint Mary Magdalene, thought to be painted by an unknown 16th century Flemish artist.[4] The narrator must not make eye contact with the woman, who may be a saint or a prostitute.[6] The ambiguous portrait comes to dominate the narrative.[4] The narrator recalls his troubled relationship with his mother and the inability to "engage with life" that has made him a wanderer.[5]

Une adolescence en Gueldre received the 73rd Prix des Deux Magots on 31 January 2006.[7][8] Pirotte also received the Prix Marcel Aymé for the novel, awarded on 15 December 2006, which came with a check for €3,000. This prize is given by the Association du livre et des auteurs comtois (ALAC), supported by the regional council of Franche-Comté and by the town and academy of Besançon.[7]